We started out in this community as most people do: users and consumers. But as we explored different backpack options and learned what was out there we became more obsessed with things like materials, construction, features, and comfort. Eventually this became a real hobby for us, so much so that we started shifting our thinking to imagining new designs and builds, bags that we would enjoy using.
The idea for our flagship products came from all the trips we’d take on the weekends like visiting a national park or taking a trip home to visit family. After trying hundreds of different packing combinations we thought about trying a new system, one that offered the functionality of multiple bags in one platform. But nearly every commercially available bag system out there suffered from the same set of issues: either they were too big, too cumbersome, or too narrowly designed to work for us. So we started sketching and drawing up what we thought would suit our needs, something that wasn’t too big, something that looked like a single cohesive unit when put together, and something that could do well in multiple use-cases.
Originally, the plan was to send these notebook sketches to a maker and have the bags custom made, or, if we were feeling adventurous enough, try and build it ourselves. But we realized we didn’t know a single thing about anything. So we started learning how bags were made and how different design decisions impacted the overall look and function of a bag. We watched tutorial after tutorial to help us understand how a bag goes from a cut table to a 3D object. We started sewing simple things like pouches and totes to help develop our understanding of the fundamentals. Along the way, we realized that we stumbled upon an industry that we genuinely enjoy being a part of, and suddenly it felt like something more than a notebook sketch.
So what started as a passion project quickly developed into something bigger. The idea of scaling our designs into a soft goods company came about as a way to build something bigger than ourselves that people could support if they wanted to. In the end it's all about creative design and making hard-use gear for adventure seekers and soft-goods enthusiasts. COVENANT is just the result of a passion for the process and pride in the design.
